Now Reading: SBI to automate over 50% of cheques using AI, raise limit to Rs 1 lakh
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SBI to automate over 50% of cheques using AI, raise limit to Rs 1 lakh
State Bank of India (SBI) plans to raise the automated cheque-processing threshold from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh, a move that will let AI handle more than 50% of its cheques…
State Bank of India (SBI) plans to raise the automated cheque-processing threshold from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh, a move that will let AI handle more than 50% of its cheques by volume, chief information officer Abhay Kishore Pandey said. The bank currently processes about 25% of cheque volumes automatically using image-based AI models that read fields, verify compliance and clear payments with minimal human involvement. A control risk unit continues to sample AI-processed cheques and retrain models on misses.
The higher threshold is part of SBI's broader push to cut costs through artificial intelligence without expanding its workforce. Pandey said annual technology spending is over USD 2 billion, and the bank is making a significantly larger investment in AI platforms at the enterprise level. In FY26, SBI used AI-led underwriting to process nearly Rs 1 trillion in MSME loans of up to Rs 5 crore each, using GST data, credit bureau scores and account information to assess borrowers, and the bank reported lower non-performing assets on loans approved through its business rule engine.
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The Rs 1 lakh cheque-processing threshold matters because it covers the bulk of retail and small-business payments, where the current Rs 10,000 limit catches only a quarter of SBI's cheque volume. SBI processes over a crore cheques daily, moving 50% of them to zero-touch AI removes thousands of back-office roles over time, though the bank frames this as redeployment to customer-facing work. The Rs 1 trillion in AI-underwritten MSME loans in FY26, each up to Rs 5 crore, shows how far the bank has already pushed machine-driven credit. With an annual tech spend exceeding USD 2 billion, SBI's board-level IT committee now debates AI investment as a recurring agenda item, signalling that cost-to-serve and non-performing asset ratios are the metrics under watch when the next quarterly results are announced.
Source: bfsi.economictimes.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
